What a strange pattern the shuttle of life can weave.

After at least 5 failed launch attempts, the space shuttle got to finally lift off from Kennedy Space Center for its rendezvous with ISS. Being and afternoon and mid-week launch, I couldn't travel over to the east coast, so I had to merely settle for a rooftop viewing from the Channelside Parking garage in downtown Tampa. Timing worked out very well since I was needing to be there for a social event at Splitsville upscale bowling place for a charity event. It was just clear enough to see it climb altitude for 30 seconds or so before disappearing into the haze. I've resolved myself to try to watch every night launch in the future; if not from the Titusville area itself then at least from a good vantage point as I am sure that even on the west coast, the night sky would be absolutely light up.

Flood: A river that's too big for its bridges

Before heading to a business networking function today, I took the kayaks out to the Hillsborough River near temple Terrace to get in a bit of exercise and to be a decent host to a couchsurfer from Ireland.

Be like a duck - keep calm and unruffled on the surface, but paddle like crazy underneath.

Since the boats were already loaded, I decided to head to the Caladesi Island kayaking trip that the Tampa Adventure Group was sponsoring. It was a lethargic morning and hard to get out of bed, but finally I mustered the energy to throw some of the food together and head out to Dunedin. I missed the group by about 90 minutes, but was able to catch up to them as they were about to land on the beach and took the opportunity to get some shots as everyone passed by. I've been to this area several times before, but never actually took the inland waterway, so explored the area a bit and even found the mangrove tunnels meandering about. With it being slightly overcast, the paddling was pretty comfortable with some nice views, especially of the storm passing off in the distance toward the end of the paddle. On the way home I even decided to make a quick stop at Pam Callahan Reserve on Memorial Hwy for a quick walk around and was pleasantly surprised to see hash trail marks along the pathway. Apparently the TBH3 hash had trail run through here just the day before. The water was too high with the tide and recent rains to get to walk the marsh trails, but it was still an enjoyable walk as long as pace was quick enough to avoid the bombarding mosquitoes.

I love dinosaurs, women that communicate how they truly feel, elves, and other fantasy creatures.

After at least three other attempts, I figured this would be the time to make it to Cape Canaveral to do some kayaking and see the shuttle launch. I was supposed to go on one of the previous kayak trips when I canceled last minute due to a need to work over the weekend; later learning the launch was scrubbed due to a leak. My next attempt was a trip over for one night; heading out around 10PM, arriving and setting up cameras and sleeping on the mattress in the truck only to find out that it was canceled (same fuel leak issue) after I woke up, and then driving back home to make it to the office by 9AM.

This time it looked as if everything was ready with a clean check of the fuel systems, decent weather, and closing window of launch opportunity. I got everything packed up for an overnight kayak with a local kayaking group and was excited about the chance to finally see another launch. Just as I was literally pulling onto the entry ramp for I-4 to head to Cape Canaveral, I got a call from my friend Dave saying that the shuttle was, once again, scrubbed. Apparently a storm the previous night had seen a lot of lightning activity, so everything had to be recertified for flight status. Not to waste an afternoon and fully loaded camera, I decided to just take the opportunity to hit a small theme park I had seen so many times before but never got myself to visit, Dinosaur World. Since the interstate system was developed, so many roadside attractions completely died off or are even now just barely surviving; Weeki Wachee, Silver Spring, cypress Gardens, Sunken Gardens, etc. I really didn't know what to expect here, only really being attracted due to the huge roadside advertising. I was pleasantly surprised by the theme park. Even without the 50% coupon from the Entertainment Book, the normal price of ~13 wouldn't have been too bad at all. The models of all the 'animals' were really well done where I was expected some kind of very simple structures, many of these were quite large in scale. This was a great little spot where I could play with some HDR photography. Being a very shaded area, things would have come out much better if I thought to bring the tripod along, but at least many of them turned out decently. If you're ever looking for a random activity to do for the day, then I think dropping by here would definitely be worth the time. Though I could barely pronounce any of the scientific, or even common, names, I still learned a few things. After wandering for a couple of hours, I next hit the nearby winery for an impromptu wine tasting. For $3 bucks one could try several wines on the list, including sweet wines with blueberry or peach infusion. I actually picked up a couple of bottles to somewhat build up something more of a collection for the game room wet-bar.

I've posted some of the better Dinosaur World photos here; http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2353714&id=5026895&l=4a7385dbb1

There is more to running one's life than finding the ON switch.

This morning, prior to getting read to head out for the shuttle launch, I participated in my 3rd official race, the second 5K in the 'Beat The Heat' series put on by Hillsborough County Parks and Recreation. On my first 5K, I wasn't sure what to expect in terms of my final results since I hadn't been in a timeed race since high school. I had been hoping to just get under a 25 minute finish, but I ended up with a relatively decent 23:31.1. I've been doing a good bit more organized training and have been receiving a lot of advice and encouragement from my friends Tom and Veronica, so I was a little more prepared this go-around. It wasn't a drastic improvement or anything, but I was able to come in at a final measurement of 22:44, an improvement of only 47 seconds but at least a personal record.

Cats use claws to climb trees and fire departments to get down.

For the second time since I started working in Ybor, a big thunderstorm shut off power to my building, essentially halting everything. the first time this happened I was still just a volunteer and think I had impressed people when I was able to whip out several headlamps from my truck so we could finish going through some papers before calling it a day. This time it was a bit strange since there was power in some places, but not everywhere, but computers wouldn't run. It was when I tried to turn on the small fan on my desk that I found it was running, but very, very slow. Though I didn't have the voltmeter with me, that simply told me that the voltage was really low, so essentially a brownout electrical condition. That can be very bad for computers, so I brought out the headlamp once again and went around the building turn off all the power strips on the computers so any subsequent surges as power was restored wouldn't kill everything. There was some kind of commotion across the road where a bunch of fire trucks came out, but we never really noticed anything and figure it must have been some electrically triggered alarm. Oh well, exciting day.

You can never discard too many bad ideas

After yesterday's weather cancel, I still wanted to get out and do a couple of jumps, so I once again headed to the drop zone. It is pretty slow during the summer, so I could at least get in some reading and relax a bit. Though we couldn't find anyone else to join, Jon and I decided to do a tube exit and then turn a few points, which surprising actually happened more or less according to plan. After packing, I decided to hang around the DZ to enjoy some cheap dinner and drinks (someone bought everyone a case to celebrate their 400th jump for which they got a congratulatory face pieing). Not to waste any remaining sunlight, Jon decided to try something new. The plan was to do some wakeboarding and tubing across the swoop pond using rope, two trucks, and a pulley. This blog's readers (what few there may be if any) should not worry since I am sure all of this was planned out using engineering drafting tools, current hydro-dynamic modeling tables, superior planning, and quality materials. With me driving, we had a dozen or so runs across the pond with varying degrees of success, even getting a few people up on the board and doing turns as they surfed behind the truck.

I bet Jesus could keep a party going all night on one six-pack.

After getting home around 3AM after the 10K I got up around 9 to head to the drop zone to do a couple of jumps. I met up with Jon to try to organize a fun 4-way with a few others, something like a tube exit, however by the time we got everything planned out and geared up, we got a weather cancel just as we were heading to the place. I couldn't stay to wait it out since I had a party to attend. I was graciously invited by a couple of different friends to a July 4th, Monte Carlo party that I was told was going to be a blast. I talked to the organizer previously and arranged to bring out my daiquiri machine to contribute a bit to the festivities. The organizer went all out in the planning and detail of the party. There were real casino games set up by dealers that stayed throughout the night along with professional bartenders, tons of food, professional photographer taking party pics, and even fireworks later in the evening. I had a great time getting a chance to meet so many new people and recognize many faces of those I had gotten to know over the past few months at different events.

Even when you're running the world, you can't get off.

After finishing some remodeling most of the day, I headed over to St. Pete to meet up with some friends at the monthly 'First Friday' event where a street is blocked off for some live music and other entertainment. I met up with everyone over at The Independent before hitting the street party. It didn't take long before we got hungry, so we hit a combo Thai/Chinese place for some noodle goodness and a few beers before joining the pack. It wasn't long before I had to take off in order to make it to the Dunedin Midnight 10K race.

In the way to Dunedin, I passed a local baseball field that had a pretty nice fireworks show just along Hwy 19 where I pulled over for a little while to gander at the display and take a few pictures before heading off to the race. This was my first 10K and a last minute decision, but with the running I've done lately, I wanted to push myself a little bit and see what I could do. Even at the 12:15AM start time it was pretty darn humid, but the course was pretty neat with much of it light up with roadside candles. I did enjoy the aspect of a night run and near silence, even with so many feet pounding pavement nearby. Around mile 4 I was questioning my thought process of doing such a long run when I had other plans for the weekend, but I eventually pushed myself to the end, even finding enough energy for a last quarter-mile sprint. I placed a disappointing 57:48 time with a 9:18 average pace, but at least it is a start, and technically a personal record (even if there was no prior record).

Life is not fair...it is, however, quite a circus.

I previously had planned to hit the Cirque Du Soleil show last week, however the plans had changed due to my own bad planning at one point, so I decided to take the opportunity to see it tonight before the busy July 4th weekend started. This was a great opportunity to stay late at the office since the show didn't start until 7:30. The building started to quickly empty around 1 o'clock after the office cookout and by 3:30 or so it was almost all but empty, so I was able to turn up the music for once and get through some decent reading of some old contracts that needed review. Since there is a stop just feet from the office, I took the Tampa Streetcar/trolley from the office to the Forum that was hosting the show. I've seen many of the Cirque shows in the past, including a good viewing of Ka in Las Vegas last March, however this was the first time I'd seen Saltimbanco, the oldest Cirque touring show.

After purchasing a low-price tier ticket at the box office I headed up to take my spot, however the usher of my section was handing out a few tickets for free, unsold seat upgrades, so I got to head back down to get a center row seat with an excellent view; so I ended up being quite pleased. Like the rest, I really enjoyed the show and the different acts and performances. I really enjoyed the first act with the large cast or acrobats jumping among the poles with style and finesse; looking like brightly colored, beautiful monkeys chasing a moth through a room. If you don't get a chance to see it, no matter the circumstance, there are numerous Saltimbanco video clips available to view.

If you haven't seen a Cirque performance, then check out this video clip from the 2002 Oscars award show that is among my favorites. It is a great introduction as it pulls acts from numerous shows that coincide with scenes from different movies. http://www.metacafe.com/watch/57414/cirque_du_soleil_oscars/